Godrej Aadhaar, the rural services cum retail initiative of Godrej Agrovet Ltd., signed an agreement with Apollo Pharmacy, part of the Apollo Hospitals group and India's largest retail pharmacy chain, to offer medicine support across Godrej Aadhaar outlets in rural India.
The agreement establishes areas of collaboration that include setting up of Apollo Pharmacies at Aadhaar outlets called "Apollo Aadhaar Pharmacy", offering genuine medicines and life saving drugs, round the clock to nearby villages. The new venture also plans to leverage the Apollo Group's expertise in rural healthcare and contribute towards the rural healthcare system through telemedicine consultations, wellness programs, health check ups, community health insurance products, joint social welfare activities and medical camps. To start with, Apollo Aadhaar Pharmacies are being launched at the key Aadhaar centres, at Manchar, Pune district in Maharashtra and Jagraon, Ludhiana district in Punjab.
Speaking about the partnership, C K Vaidya, MD, Godrej Agrovet Ltd. said, "We are pleased to enter into this partnership with Apollo, the largest healthcare services provider in India. Taking forward Godrej Aadhaar's concept of 'Everything under one roof', we plan to offer the best medical facilities and a host of other welfare activities aimed at the rural community. This venture reinforces our commitment to the betterment of the quality of life of our agricultural brethren while single mindedly driving the core positioning of Godrej Aadhaar - 'Khushiyon Ka, Khushhali Ka'. We look forward to a very promising and fruitful association that could meet the needs of the rural community."
The new generation Aadhaar offers farmers the convenience of shopping for quality products and services under one roof at the best cost. Apart from Apollo Aadhaar pharmacy, the rural community could also avail of a host of other value added services at Aadhaar outlets in the future.
Shobana Kamineni, director, Apollo Pharmacy said, "Close to 70 per cent of population in India resides in the rural belts and most of them have little or no access to genuine medicines. We believe that rural belts have a real need and hence a huge potential for retail pharmacies providing genuine medicines and quality services. The Godrej Aadhaar network will enable us to unlock the potential of rural markets. Rural India will certainly benefit from this association as they can be assured of quality medicines at the right price and additional healthcare services at their doorsteps."
Besides offering genuine medicines, the Apollo Aadhaar Pharmacy will also be a one-stop shop for access to other Apollo Hospital Group services. It also plans to introduce innovative products in healthcare, tailor made for the rural markets.